Right:
From an altitude of 16 km, Huygens photographed these drainage channels
leading to a shoreline. [More]

First images released by the ESA depict sinuous drainage channels
leading to an apparent shoreline. What's draining? Possibly liquid
methane. The orange landscape around the Huygens landing site is littered
with little rocks, rounded and smooth like river-rocks on Earth. One
of the images seems to show tendrils of ground fog made not of water
but perhaps ethane or methane.

It's all a bit familiar, yet at the same time utterly alien. Researchers are elated.

Above:
Small "rocks," possibly made of water ice, at the Huygens
landing site. Evidence of erosion at the base of these objects suggests
fluvial activity. The right panel shows, approximately, the true color
of the scene. [More]

Because Titan has a thick atmosphere, able to carry sound waves,
the moon is a noisy place. Microphones onboard Huygens recorded the
sound of wind rushing by the probe as it descended. The ESA has released
about one minute's worth of the recording; it's a
sample of what a traveler riding with Huygens would have heard during
the descent: click
here to listen.

Huygens was designed to float in case it landed in a river or lake--but
it didn't. After descending by parachute for two and a half hours, the
saucer-shaped probe hit solid ground at a speed of 4.5 meters per second
(10 mph), experiencing a brief jolting deceleration of 15 Gs. Huygens
survived the impact and continued transmitting data for more than one
hour after landing.

Among the measurements sent back to Earth were air temperature, pressure,
composition and wind speed sampled at points ranging from the top
of Titan's atmosphere to the ground. The temperature of the landing
site itself was minus 291 degrees F. A "penetrometer" on the bottom
of the probe poked into the ground. The soil, it found, has the consistency
of wet sand or clay and is covered by a thin crust ... of something.
Scientists are still analyzing all these data.

Above:
A 360o panoramic view of the terrain around Huygens' landing
site. Scientists speculate that the white streaks are a ground 'fog'
of methane or ethane vapor. [More]

There are enough photos, sounds and other measurements to keep researchers busy for years. The data released so far are preliminary, just a fraction of the total. Stay tuned for more....

Cassini-Huygens is a joint mission of NASA, ESA and the Italian Space Agency. ESA's Huygens probe was carried to Saturn's orbit aboard Cassini, and sent on its way to Titan on Dec. 24, 2004. Cassini continues to orbit Saturn on a four-year prime mission to study the planet, its rings, moons and magnetosphere.